HOSTS Saddleworth claimed both team and individual honours at the Brian Atack Trophy, the traditional end-of-season tournament for the Oldham and District Golf League.

Club president Dave Fox partnered teammate Graham Hobbs to a 46 points betterball Stableford score that included three 2s and  gave them a two-point winning margin on the rest of the 160-strong field.

And that 46-point tally proved crucial as the club’s best three scores tally of 129 was just enough to pip rivals Stamford and Blackley by a single point.

Stamford had posted their 44+42+42=128 score from amongst the early starters as the Mountain Ash course was bathed in sunshine and not the heavy rain originally forecast

But once Saddleworth’s 46+42+41=129 took the lead ‘A’ team captain Dave Chapman had a nervous wait to see if they would be caught.

Blackley posted two scores of 43 and a third would have meant a countback but two of their last three pairings posted 42 to come up just short.

1. D Fox and G Hobbs (Saddleworth) 46pts;

2. S Finan and P Traynore (Stamford) 44pts, cpo;

3.T Rands and D Melvin (Castle Hawk) 44pts;

4. G Morris and A White (Blackley)  43pts cpo;

5. S Ogden and J Phillips (Oldham) 43pts cpo from D Beasor and D Williams (Blackley).

Longest Drive: A Rowbotham (Werneth). Nearest pins – 2nd: S Moores (Stamford); 5th A Rowbotham (Werneth); 10th P Bostock (C&R); 15th K Duffy (Stamford).

The event also doubled up as the presentation event for the season with Ashton crowned ‘A’ Premiership champions and Brookdale ‘A’ championship winners that sees them returning to the top flight in 2019. Dukinfield ‘A’ won the ‘A’ KO Cup with a 3-2 win over Denton ‘A’ – the match turning on the 19th green in the deciding game.

ASHTON have been crowned ‘A’ Premiership champions after dramatic final league matches in the Oldham and District Golf League season.
Martin Wild’s men went into the rearranged game with Crompton & Royton knowing that two points would be enough to claim the title but anything less would leave the door open for either Denton or Werneth.
As it was, two points was all they got in a 6-2 defeat on a High Barn course made difficult by slow greens following maintenance work. And they needed them both as 2017 champions Denton hammered Werneth 8-0 in their last game to make the margin a single point.
Whilst Ashton celebrated as Nigel Brookes’ Denton were left to rue a poor start to the season when they picked up only 8 points in the first three games.
And Werneth, who in the end only survived the drop to the Championship on countback, will look back on a poor performance away from home that saw them pick up only seven points on the road and none at all in the last two games.
Martin Wild, a stalwart in the league for many years, has captained both the A and B teams at Ashton on several occasions but this is the first time he has led the team to the league title.
“We told ourselves that Denton would get all the points in that last game and that we had to go out and win the title for ourselves.
“The greens were very difficult with the work being done on them and we are just relieved to have got over the line.”

'B' League playoff Final

DUKINFIELD and Crompton and Royton both clinched last-green victories as the final silverware of the Oldham and District Golf League was decided.

Dukinfield 'B' won the 'B' league playoff Final when they beat Stamford 'B' 3-2 at Crompton and Royton. They took an early 2-0 lead through Shaun McDenitt and Ian Rothwell (4&3) and Barry Farman and Phil O'Dell (2&1)  but Stamford hit back through Adam Carr and Gary Ford (5&4) and when Tony McClusky and captain Keith Walker held their nerve for a 2 up win, it was all down the final game.

Dukinfield edged it with Alan Robinson and Chris Clough claiming a 1up win with Robinson making an excellent par up the last to the joy of his watching teammates. Captain Donal Slattery collected the trophy to crown a two-season unbeaten run in the league.

B Knock-out Cup Final

It was a similar close encounter over at Brookdale as Crompton and Royton 'B' beat Oldham 'B' 3-2 in the 'B KO Cup final. Oldham led 2-0 through Andy Harris and Dave Kendrick (6&5) and Johnny Phillips and Steve Ogden (3&2). But Barry McLaughlin and Liam Grogan (5&4) and Alan Moran and Rick Ollerton (2&1) kept C&R in the hunt and Rob Riley and Mark Roberts held onto their one-hole lead up the last with a par to give C&R the trophy.